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Plant Commodity Import Approval

Process

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Learn how a new plant commodity, including a fruit, vegetable, plant, or plant

product, is authorized for import into the United States.

How To Request Access to U.S. Markets

Are you looking to import a fruit, vegetable, plant, or plant product into the United

States? Check to see if the plant commodity is authorized for import. If not, you'll

need to make a commodity import request, as outlined below:

1. Verify whether the commodity is authorized by the United States.

Search the Plant Health Commodity Trade Manuals and the Agricultural

Commodity Import Requirements (ACIR) database. 

2. If it is not authorized or not currently undergoing a pest risk analysis, submit a

commodity import request.

Contact the national plant protection organization (NPPO) of the country

from which the commodity would be exported.

The NPPO must submit the information listed in 7 CFR 319.5(d) to APHIS at

the address listed in the regulations.
What To Expect After Submitting a Request

Upon receipt of a completed request, APHIS will conduct a pest risk analysis and an

environmental review to determine:

If potential pests are likely to remain on the plant during importation

How APHIS can avoid, reduce, or eliminate the risk of pest introduction into the

United States (a mitigation plan).

After the pest risk analyses and environmental review, we will conduct risk analyses

per International Standard for Phytosanitary Measures No. 11, “Pest Risk Analysis for

Quarantine Pests,” and its supplements, set by the International Plant Protection

Convention. Here's an Imported Plant Commodity Pest Risk Assessment Framework

(847.38 KB), so you can get a better look.

Drafting a Risk Assessment

APHIS prepares a draft risk assessment or pest list based on the information

provided by the NPPO and other available scientific and technical information.

Subject matter experts, producers, academics, and scientists in the United

States and other countries may be consulted during this process.

The time needed to draft a risk assessment may vary due to a variety of

circumstances such as the topic's complexity, access to information and

number of stakeholders who need to be consulted.

Reviewing a Risk Assessment

When we complete a draft risk assessment or plant pest list, it undergoes internal

agency review. We may make changes to the risk assessment or pest list based on

this internal review.

Stakeholder Consultation

APHIS posts the draft risk assessments or pest lists for plant and plant product

commodity import requests on the Stakeholder Risk Assessment Consultation

page for a 30-day stakeholder review period.

Then, the documents go to a formal country consultation process, in which

APHIS asks an exporting country for input on the U.S. assessment and proposed

mitigations.
Once the NPPO sends feedback and later approves our risk assessment or pest

list and mitigation options, we will prepare the risk management document.

Are you a stakeholder?

Visit the Import Commenting Opportunities page or subscribe to our email updates

and select the following topics to participate in the stakeholder consultation process:

“Importation into the United States”

“Risk Analyses and Assessments (PRA)”

Risk Management Document

After completing both stakeholder and country consultations, APHIS will draft a risk

management document. This document describes specific measures to mitigate the

risk posed by each pest listed and prevent the introduction and establishment of the

pest(s) in the United States. For each measure, we indicate the reason it was

selected and give evidence that it is effective and supported by scientific and

technical information.

Regulatory Process

After completing the risk analysis process, APHIS initiates the regulatory

administrative process (rulemaking). This process begins when we publish an initial

notice or proposed rule in the Federal Register to announce that a risk assessment,

pest list, risk management document, and supporting environmental documentation

are available for public comment. We use notices for fruits and vegetables and

plants for planting. We publish proposed rules for all other plants and plant products.

The effective date of the final notice or rule is the date the commodity is authorized

for importation into the United States under the described phytosanitary import

requirements. Please note that the country of origin may need to meet or establish

certain requirements before we allow imports of that commodity into the United

States. Until such requirements are established, the commodity will not be allowed

entry.

Have a question about an importing issue?

Visit Our Trade Contacts Directory